Latics ticket giveaway

CHADDY the Owl hands out vouchers to children at Thornham St James School in Royton, with pupils Bronte Bashforth (front, left) and Josh Jones-Dean (front, right) among the recipients.

ATHLETIC are giving away 5,000 tickets to schoolchildren for forthcoming matches.

The initiative, the club's biggest since the late 1980s, will see youngsters admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult who pays half-price.

Vouchers are being distributed in local schools which can be exchanged at Boundary Park for tickets to matches against Colchester on Saturday, Plymouth (October 30) and Exeter (November 23).

"We hope we can attract a lot of new, young fans along with their parents at the three games where the promotion is available," said Athletic chief executive Alan Hardy.